


Stranger Still

by Lorilie



Series: Stranger Still [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-02-27 16:25:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 19,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13252074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lorilie/pseuds/Lorilie
Summary: Katherine "Kat" Henderson has spent the past four years of her life living with her dad in California. After her boyfriend has a run in with the law she finds herself back with her mother and brother in Hawkins, Indiana. This fanfiction follows the same events as season two but with the addition of Kat as a major character.





	1. The Thing in The Basement

Kat Henderson was just as enthusiastic to be back in Hawkins, Indiana as a convict would be heading to the electric chair. She had spent the past four years in California, living with her father. She had wanted to be an actress and when the opportunity to move to the place where a new star is made every minute with her newly divorced dad she had pounced on it, leaving her mother and younger brother behind. California had ended in disaster mostly because of a boy. Kat had found him dreamy and daring, the police, however, had found him to be in possession of a large amount of cocaine. So once her handsome boyfriend ended up behind bars, Kat’s dad decided it was in her best interest to return to safe, boring, mind-numbingly mundane Indiana.  
And that is just where she found herself on a Tuesday morning in October as she got off the bus she had taken from the airport. Hawkins was small, too small and as soon as Kat took a deep breath of the fresh air that was abundant in the middle of nowhere, she felt as if she was suffocating. The walk from the bus stop to her house was less than ten minutes but it felt like ten miles. Trudging along the sidewalk with her suitcase in hand Kat couldn’t help but feel as though life had dealt her quite the unfair hand. She knew she was walking around with quite the chip on her shoulder and although she had always hated those people who always seemed to say that the world was against them, in that moment she understood them completely.  
She was back in the one place she had dreaded the most and since she had left things had gotten weird. Last November, her mother had called her quite panicked, this wasn't unusual seeing as how her mother always seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown but what had been odd about that phone call was the reasoning behind it. Kat’s mother was desperately trying to get her daughter to come back home because one of her brother Dustin’s friend had gone missing. Her mother had gone on and on about how she wanted both of her babies where she could see them, where she knew exactly where they were at all times. Kat managed to get out of coming back then since the police managed to find Will after a bit but whenever Kat would ask Dustin about it he seemed off somehow like there was something he wasn’t telling her.  
Kat eventually reached her house and slipped in silently through the back door. Her mother’s car hadn’t been in the driveway so she figured she had a few hours to herself before she would be subjected to the inescapable smothering of her mother. She dragged her suitcase down the hall and into her old bedroom, it was mostly the same save for the small boxes of Halloween decorations her mother must have taken down from the attic. Kat groaned and flopped onto her bed. She stared up at the ceiling smiling softly at the small stars she had painted on it just before her twelfth birthday. She closed her eyes and found herself beginning to drift off when she heard a sound.  
The sound was coming from her little brother’s room but it was only twelve thirty and he wouldn’t be home from school for at least three more hours. She listened again, it was Mews the family cat and it was growling at something. It hissed and Kat debated on checking in on the feline but she figured it was some kind of bug or maybe a shadow. She heard the hissing again but this time it was much deeper than anything her little cat could have possibly mustered. For a moment Kat wondered if there was another animal in the house, another cat or maybe even a mountain lion. She shook her head, that was ridiculous it was just Mews being annoying and she was imagining things, she had just traveled quite a ways and it always made her sleepy.  
Just as Kat had managed to convince herself that there was no mountain lion infestation in the next room over she heard the unmistakable thud of something hitting the shared wall hard. Then there was another thud and sickening crunch and a horrifying squelching noise. Kat sat up and felt a white-hot panic start to spread in her stomach. She quickly looked around for something she could use as a weapon, opening her closet she found an old tennis racket. Armed with a racket and all the strength of an eighteen-year-old girl who for the record did have a killer tennis stroke, she moved into the hallway.  
Her brother’s door was slightly ajar, he probably hadn’t closed it properly and Mews who enjoyed sleeping in Dustin’s bed had probably nudged it open with his paw. Putting the racket into the crack of the door Kat nudged it open. She couldn’t see anything nor could she hear anything. She put her foot in and flung the door open, without warning some sort of creature ran past her and into the open door that lead to the basement. Kat ran after it, slamming the door behind her, hoping to trap in the cellar until she could call animal control or the cops or someone. She went back to her brother’s room to see if she could find Mews but instead, she found a blood trail.  
Part of her knew if she followed it she would find something horrific but another part of her knew she had to assess the damage. Maybe if she could see the bite marks, or maybe even paw prints she could determine whatever the thing she had now caged in her cellar was. Following the trail, Kat spotted Mews or more accurately what was left of Mews. The feline had been eviscerated, and Kat did everything in her power to not vomit at the sight. There were claw marks and teeth marks but nothing that even seemed remotely natural. Kat looked around the room, all the windows were closed and she hadn’t seen any open in the living room or kitchen and the doors had been locked. Whatever had attacked Mews had been in Dustin’s room since that morning at least. So now the question became what the hell had Dustin been keeping in his room?


	2. The Bloody Truth

Kat was pacing back and forth in her room, she needed a plan of action. She had picked up the phone three different times ready to call animal control but something stopped her. Her brother had been keeping it in his room meaning he cared enough about it to at least try and keep it safe and Kat wasn’t sure she wanted to have someone take that away from him. On the other hand whatever he had been keeping was clearly dangerous and the idea of her brother trying to keep that made her even more uneasy. She resolved to question him immediately when he got home, she would just have to wait it out and hopefully not have to face whatever that thing was in the basement again.  
At 3:15 Dustin burst in through the kitchen door in his usual Dustin manner, knocking over the neatly stacked magazines their mother had left on the floor to be recycled. “Dart!” He called out down the dark hallway, “Hey, buddy,” he called out again. Kat stepped in front of her brother, “We need to talk. Now.” Dustin looked at his sister and for a moment she could see the absolute fear in his eyes. “Oh hey, Kat, I thought you wouldn’t be home until later...haha...er...anyways I have a lot of homework to do you know knowledge is power hahaha…” Kat crossed her arms, her brother was smaller than most of the kids his age so she still towered over him casting a somewhat imposing shadow.   
“Don’t bullshit me here Dustin, what was in your room?” Kat narrowed her eyes trying to read her brother’s face, looking for clues. “My room? As in the room, I sleep in or like, well what's a room really? I mean I don’t really own any rooms in this house I mean do I look like I pay rent?” He let out a small but defeated laugh trying to reach around his sister’s torso and open the door. “Whatever you had in there ate Mews so you either ‘fess up now or I’ll explain to mom why her second favorite child is now minced meat.”   
“It ate Mews?” Dustin asked his voice wavering. “Yes, so just tell me what it is so we can deal with it. Raccoon? Dude if that thing has rabies we have to call someone, like now.” Dustin screwed up his face, “Where is it now? It didn’t get out did it?” Without any hesitation, he flew past his sister throwing open his bedroom door, the putrid stench of drying blood filled the hallway. “It’s in the basement, it ran out when I came in. Dustin what was that and why was it in your room?”   
“You gotta promise you won’t tell mom. Like she can never know about this, if she finds out I’ll be grounded until I’m forty.” Kat sighed but nodded her head, sometimes it was better to keep their mother in the dark about certain things. “I’m not really sure what it is, I mean I went to the library and did some research and I mean it could be a new species of tadpole or something like that.” Kat shook her head, “No way, when I saw it, well I didn’t really see it but that thing is about the size of a small dog Dustin, there is no way that thing is a frog.”   
“Well there is something else it could be but you can’t mention this to anyone, they’ll take him away, they’ll kill him.” Dustin was pleading with her now, “Dust I can’t promise that, you saw what it did to Mews, it's dangerous and I don’t want you getting hurt.” Dustin placed both of his hands on his sister’s forearms and squeezed. “Katherine you weren’t here last year and a lot of weird stuff happened, a lot of things happened that I can’t talk about. I just need to you to help me right now okay, I just need you to trust me on this one.” Kat sighed looked at the bloody mess in the bedroom then back to her brother. “Okay, fine. But go get the mop and a bucket we need to clean this up before mom gets home.”


	3. Steve

For the next three hours, the Henderson kids mopped and scrubbed until any trace of what they had begun calling “The Mews Massacre” had been bleached from sight. During that time Dustin told Kat everything about what had happened the year before. He told her all about Will and the Upsidedown and Eleven and how after she had defeated the Demogorgon she had disappeared. At some points Kat had to stop what she was doing in order to process what her brother had told her, he had no proof of what he was saying but she also didn’t have any way of discrediting what he was telling her. She probably would have been more skeptical if she hadn’t gotten glimpse of whatever it was that was now beneath their feet.  
After the mess was cleaned and the bloody sneakers hosed off, Dustin and Kat went outside to see if they could lure the creature out of the cellar. Dustin armed in old hockey gear and Kat in an old winter coat waited as they slapped down slices of bologna hoping the smell of the lunch meat would entice the creature out of hiding. “So this thing, it's from somewhere else?” Kat asked as her brother threw down the last slice, “Yeah I mean I don’t know exactly where but I guess it's like Hawkins but different. Will spent some time there when he was missing, but he doesn’t like to talk about it much.” Kat nodded “I can imagine.”   
The siblings waited for a few tense seconds not really sure if their plan would work. “I don’t think it's going to come out Dust, I mean it could have attacked me but it didn’t, it ran away from me. But if it is getting bigger like you said then eventually it's not going to be afraid and there's no telling what it could do. We need to get it out, we’re gonna have to bring it out.” Dustin nodded, the two of them weren’t going to be able to get the job done alone though. They were going to need backup and from someone who knew what they were up against. “I’m gonna go get Mike, he might be able to help. You stay here and try and see if it gets out.” Kat nodded, as Dustin turned to go towards his bike she called out to him, “Just be safe, okay?” Dustin smiled at his sister, “Kat if I can face interdimensional demon monster things I think I can handle a bike ride to Mike’s.” Without another word, he jogged off in the direction of his bike and sped down their driveway leaving Kat alone with a yard full of lunch meat.  
After waiting for what felt like hours Kat heard a car pull into their driveway, fearing it was her mother back from Kat quickly shrugged off the old coat and shut the cellar doors. Moving quickly towards the driveway she was surprised to see a marron BMW pull up. Dustin came out of the passenger side midway through a conversation and Kat looked on perplexed to see who was the driver. She saw the hair first and to be quite honest that hair was unmistakable. “Steve? Steve Harington?” Kat called out as he walked towards her. “Kat Henderson?” She smiled but was still a little caught off guard, Dustin had gone to get Mike so why did he come back with Steve Harrington of all people.  
“Mike wasn’t home and Steve was there for Nancy but she's probably off with Jonathan and well, to be honest Kat he has a bat with nails in his trunk.” Kat looked back to Steve, “So you and Nancy Wheeler?” Steve looked at the ground running a hand through his hair, “Yeah, well um, not really, not anymore I think. Anyways Dustin said there was like some kind of lizard thing in your basement?” Dustin was already headed towards the cellar doors,”It's fine Steve her boyfriend is in jail for drugs and Dart isn’t a lizard, lizards don’t eat cats!” Steve and Kat both looked at each other, both embarrassed by Dustin’s unabashed nature sand seemingly inability to keep anything private just that, private. “Ex-boyfriend,” Kat mumbled. Steve walked around to the back of his car, pulling out the baseball bat that Dustin had described, “Damn, I didn’t realize California was so crazy.” He smiled at her while slugging the bat over his shoulder, “Well it looks like Hawkins might be even crazier,” she replied.


	4. Creature Feature

Steve walked around the doors to the cellar for a few minutes, while Kat tried to describe just how big the thing was. “We need to kill it,” Dustin was saying, “From what Kat said it looks like a baby Demogorgon.” Steve looked confused, "The thing that you caught in a bear trap last year?” Dustin said clearly annoyed. “Oh, right.” Steve said, “Wait, hold up, Steve you fought one of these things?” Kat asked. “Yeah, I mean it was bigger but if Dustin’s saying that it's a Demo-whatever, then yeah, I think I may have killed one last year back at the Beyer’s place.” Kat raised an eyebrow, “Well color me impressed, Harrington.” Steve smiled, “Well, I’m not the same guy you knew in junior high, Henderson.” “Can we please focus on the task at hand here people? There is an interdimensional being in my basement and my mom is going to be home any minute.” “Alright, alright.” Steve said, taking a few practice swings with the bat. Kat unlocked the cellar doors and Steve proceeded down the steps. Kat looked at her brother, he seemed almost calm, how could he be calm? “Is this what it was like last year? You and Steve Harrington fighting off monsters?” Dustin laughed “No, he was the only one around, do you really think I’d team up with HAIRington?” Kat shrugged, “Well he is the one swinging a baseball bat in our basement right now.” A few moments went by when Kat noticed she hadn’t heard anything, “Steve?” she called out, no response. “Steve? Everything okay?” There was still nothing but silence, she turned to Dustin, “Stay here, don’t move. If mom comes back stall.” Dustin opened his mouth to protest but he saw the determination in Kat’s eye and knew better than to fight her on this one. Kat quickly scanned her surroundings for anything she could use as a weapon, she picked up a small branch, testing the weight in her hands. She nodded, this would have to do. She called out to Steve in one last attempt to establish communication but there was still only silence. Kat silently slipped down the steps, once her feet hit the solid concrete of the cellar she swung her stick into the darkness, they were losing daylight and quickly and she knew once the sun went down the basement would be plunged into darkness. “Steve!” she hissed, there was still no answer. Kat crept forward, hands gripped tightly around the branch. From behind a rough hand wrapped around her mouth, in a moment of terror, Kat swung the branch back hitting the assailant full force in the shins. There was a grunt and a slew of quiet curse words before Kat realized Steve had grabbed her, “What the hell are you doing, Harrington?” she whispered after he removed his hand, “I think I’ve gotten it into that back corner over there, if we surprise it I think we can kill it.” Kat understood and slowly both she and Steve started to make their way to the back corner of the dark room, each coming from different sides. The room was almost completely dark, what little light that was coming from the outside was fading and far behind them. The only thing Kat could see was the black outline of something that could have been the creature, but then again she couldn’t be sure. As they got closer Kat tried to find Steve in the darkness, but there was nothing but the inky blackness. There was a moment of stillness where all Kat could hear was Steve’s breathing and her own heartbeat thudding in her ears. “Now!” Steve shouted and the both of them began to pummel the thing with such force Kat could have sworn she had punctured it all the way to the ground. She hit it again and again and then, “Steve, this isn’t it.” “What?” Steve asked breathing heavily the bat still raised above his head, “This isn’t Dustin’s monster,” she took the branch and prodded the thing in the corner and when it didn’t move she reached down to touch it. It was an old bean bag that was now, thanks to Steve’s bat with nails, practically empty, the plastic pellets around their feet. “So if that isn’t what we thought it was,” Steve turned quickly, bat at the ready, “Then where the hell is it?” A scream from above them rang out and the duo sprinted to the doors. “Dustin!” Kat screamed dashing up the stairs. Once she reached the top she dove for her brother, “What happened? Are you okay? Did you see it?” “See what?” Mrs. Henderson asked Kat looked up at her mom in surprise, “Oh, hey, mom. I was just, Dustin thought he saw a bat in the basement, so I well I went to go see it.” The four of them stood there, the Henderson’s and Steve, two of which were holding weapons. “An-and I screamed because I thought I saw it.” Dustin interjected, “You screamed because of a bat?” His mother questioned, “It could have been carrying diseases.” Dustin explained, “You know how those things go...bats.” Both Henderson siblings forced a giggle and that moment, of the two siblings seemingly sharing a brain was scarier than anything Steve had seen in the past year. “Mom, uh, you remember Steve Harrington from middle school?” Kat said quickly changing the subject. Mrs. Henderson smiled, “Of course, he took you to the Snow Ball how could I forget? How’s your mom, Steve?” Kat looked at Steve and pleaded with her eyes to play along, “Oh, uh, she's great, super great.” He let out a little laugh and tried to hide the bat behind his leg. “Well, Kat you must be starving I’ll go get you something to eat, Dusty will you be home for dinner tonight, or is it another late night playing Warlocks and Witches at Mike’s?” Dustin looked down embarrassed, “It's Dungeons and Dragons, Mom, I told you like a million times.” Dustin quickly glanced back the cellar doors, still wide open. "Um, yeah I’m going over there later, save me a plate?” Mrs. Henderson looked at both her children suspiciously for a moment but then broke down into a smile, “I’m so happy both of my little cherubs are back,” She gleamed as she kissed both of them on the cheek, “I’ll go get dinner ready, it was nice seeing you, Steve!” She called out as she walked around to the front of the house. Kat turned to Dustin, “Why did you scream?”“Well you said to stall her!”“So you screamed?”“I don’t know I'm not good under pressure!”“You can fight demon things from another dimension but you can’t stall mom?”“Alright!” Steve interrupted “We need a plan B, its getting dark and we couldn’t even find that thing when we had daylight.” Kat nodded and tried to think what their best option would be when Dustin cried, “Look out!” Kat turned toward the cellar door and the monster was hurtling toward her. She was frozen in fear, not even a scream could escape her body as she felt herself turn to ice. “Kat!” Steve yelled and pulled her out of the direction of the beast. The movement didn’t seem the phase the thing and it continued past the group and towards the train tracks. There was a moment of stillness, Steve with his arms still around Kat as she shook with terror. “Are you okay?” He asked, Kat nodded, “Yeah, yeah I’m fine, I just… I’m fine.” Steve nodded and then quickly removed his hands while Dustin watched with a sneer forming in the corner of his lips. “So what do we do now?” Dustin asked as he kicked a clump a dirt with his shoe. Kat watched the clump as it rolled around the small patch of grass, “It took the meat.” she said, “It took the meat, that means,” she trailed off, “It means it’ll come after food.” Steve finished. “It was probably full of Mews when we tried earlier,” Kat finished the thought. Dustin looked at his sister and then to Steve, “So what do we do now?” “We need more meat,” Kat said, “A lot more,” Steve concluded.


	5. Dinner with Mom

Dustin and Steve left to go get more meat for the monster while Kat stayed with her mother and tried to keep everything calm at home. “So,” Mrs. Henderson started as she placed a hearty piece of meatloaf onto Kat’s already full plate, “Steve Harrington?” Kat snorted into her glass of water, “No, God, no, Mom, it’s nothing like that. Dustin and I needed an extra pair of hands and he volunteered.” Mrs. Henderson took a sip of her wine, “Is that so?”   
“Well, that's the truth,” Kat said smiling, she wasn’t actually lying about this so she had no problem selling this line to her mother.  
“Katherine, I just want you to be safe, Danny…”  
“Is not Steve, Mom.” Kat interrupted. “I never said he was, Katherine, I’m just saying it would appear to me as your mother, that you don't have the best track record with whom you chose to date.” Kat put down her fork mid-bite. “Mom I told you, I didn’t know what Danny was doing, I didn’t find out until the cops showed up at his apartment. It’s not like I’m actively trying to date drug dealers, here. Besides, this is Hawkins, nothing happens here, that's the whole reason I came back isn’t it?”   
Mrs. Henderson looked at her daughter and her eyes were starting to mist over, “You know I love you, Kitty Kat, but I worry. With everything that happened last year, I mean, Joyce Beyers got her kid back but the Hollands didn’t. And God forbid anything were to happen to you or Dustin” she didn’t finish her thought. Kat got up from her seat and went to sit by her mom’s side, “Mom, I promise there won’t be any more guys like Danny, and I’m going to keep Dustin safe. I mean he is kind of a dork, he’s not out doing much.” Mrs. Henderson smiled.  
“But I need you to trust me, okay?” Kat watched her mother’s face very carefully, she could see her mind thinking things over, “Alright, fine. No more interrogations over meatloaf.” The two women laughed and then Mrs. Henderson said, “Have you seen Mews? I can’t find him anywhere.” Kat’s stomach dropped, “Oh, no I haven’t. You don’t think he got out did he?” Mrs. Henderson paled, “Oh my god, he’s an indoor baby he can’t be outside in the cold!”   
“Mom, let me take Dad’s old car I’ll go out looking for him, he’s probably around here somewhere but I’ll just take a look around.” Mrs. Henderson bit her lip, “Do you really think that's necessary?”   
“He’s an indoor cat if he got outside time is of the essence here.” Kat felt a little guilty lying to her mom, she hadn’t even thought about how she would explain the cat’s sudden disappearance as she had been scrapping what was left of him into a trash bag. “You’re right,” her mother said, “The keys are in the junk drawer.” Without another word Kat stood up and headed for the door, “I’ll be back, you search the house!”  
Kat drove around the neighborhood a few times, driving ungodly slow to make a big show for her mother and any nosey neighbors. Eventually, she left her street and started to drive the roads of Hawkin’s aimlessly. She passed by Mike’s house and saw Dustin’s bike in the driveway and made a mental note to pick him up once she decided the search for the dead cat was over for the night. She drove without much thought listening to the radio and without realizing it, found herself in front of Steve’s house. She looked at herself in the rearview mirror, what was she doing? “Kat?” Steve’s voice called out, she looked out the window and saw Steve standing on the sidewalk putting a trash bag into the bin. “Oh, hey.”  
“Do you have another bat infestation?” He joked, “Oh, um, no actually I am searching for a dead cat.” He grinned back at her, “You mean the one that thing ate.” Kat nodded, “Do you want some company?” Steve asked. “I mean, if you don’t have anything better to do.” He smiled at her, “Nope, nope just another night in a big empty house.” Kat leaned over and opened the door.


	6. Night Driving

The two drove around for almost an hour as Steve filled Kat in on all the local gossip that she had missed over the past four years. “So I heard that Sarah Flemming and Josh Tucker are like a ‘thing’ now but you know how Sarah is with boys so,” Kat rolled her eyes, “No, Steve, I don’t. The last time I talked to Sarah Flemming was her twelfth birthday party and I’m pretty sure she was way more into horses than any boy.” Steve laughed and ran a hand through his hair,” Yeah I kind of keep forgetting you weren’t here, I mean you missed out on a lot. Why did you leave anyway?” Kat gripped the steering wheel tighter, “Well, I’m sure you heard about the shit show of a divorce my parents went through.” Steve said nothing but Kat knew he knew, the whole town knew, the Henderson’s weren’t quite people.  
“Well my dad got the chance to move to California for work and I mean I was fourteen, I wanted to do the whole acting thing. So he said if I went with him he would get me an agent and I’d go to auditions and make loads of money.” Kat sighed, “So did you ever get a movie deal?” Steve asked. “Did you ever see me in a movie, Harrington? No, my dad, he lied about it about the whole thing. He knew it would drive my mother insane not to have both her kids so he lied so I would come with him. I mean I realized after the first six months there was going to be no acting career but he was sad and alone and I couldn’t just leave him by himself in that shitty apartment.”  
Nothing was said for a while as the two of them drove down a more deserted road, “So why did you come back? I mean after four years.” Steve asked, he saw something flash in Kat’s eyes, fear or maybe anger but they showed him overwhelmingly the feeling of regret. “I was dating this guy, Danny. He was nice and he treated me right. Eventually I kind of just moved in with him because my dad and I were just fighting constantly. Then one morning we’re in bed and six police officers with guns burst into the bedroom and tackle him. So I’m screaming and crying trying to figure out what the hell is going on and one of them tells me that Danny is wanted on drug trafficking charges.”  
“Listen, Kat, if you don’t want to talk about it,”  
“No, Steve, really it’s fine what happened happened. He knew I wouldn’t stand for any of it so he never told me. He was nice enough to explain to the police I had nothing to do with it so once I was released I called my dad and he called my mom and the next thing I know I’m back on a plane to Indiana. He wasn’t a bad guy, he just ran with a bad crowd.”   
There was more silence as the two continued driving, “Hey, doesn’t Jonathan Beyers live down that way?” Even though she knew exactly where he lived she just wanted to talk about anything other than Danny. “Yeah,” Steve replied looking out the window, “Nance is there now probably.” Kat looked over to Steve and she could see the pain in his face, whatever had happened between the two of them was killing him, “You listened to my sob story, you can tell me yours.” Kat gently placed a hand on Steve’s knee but quickly drew it away. “Well, to be honest, there isn’t much to tell, Kat. We were at a party on Halloween, she got drunk, said a lot of nasty things and on Monday she said she didn’t remember anything.” Kat bit her lip, “Maybe she didn’t, I mean…” Kat searched for reasons, she didn’t need to be involved in Steve and Nancy’s business but she also didn’t want to watch Steve in pain. “Don’t do that.” Steve said, “Do what?” Kat asked as she fiddled with the radio dial, “Don’t make excuses for her.”   
Again silence filled the car and Kat shivered, the heating system in the car had stopped working years ago but her dad never got it fixed. She hadn’t even considered the cold but she also didn’t think she'd be out for a few hours. “Do you want my jacket?” Steve asked already shrugging it off, “No, no I’m okay, just not used to the weather yet apparently.” Even as she persisted Steve draped it over her shoulders. “Thanks,” Kat said quietly as she pulled it over her arms. “Thanks for everything, you really didn’t have to,” Kat said again thinking back on the day's events. “Ah don’t worry about it,” Steve said nonchalantly. If Kat didn’t know any better she would have kept on gushing to Steve about just how much it meant to her that he had come through today, but considering she had known Steve Harrington for quite some time she also knew he would just get flustered.   
“Oh shoot, I have to pick Dustin up at the Wheeler’s. I can drop you off before.”  
“Don’t that's like the complete opposite direction, I’ll be fine just stay in the car.” Kat looked at him and he just smiled at her with that smile that somehow made everything okay and they took off into the night.


	7. Reunion

As they pulled into the Wheeler’s driveway Kat could see Steve tense up, “I’ll be in and out.” Steve nodded, “I’m cool, don’t worry about me.” He patted the sides of his t-shirt looking for something, Kat reached into the pockets of the jacket and handed him his lighter and his half-empty pack of cigarettes. “It’s okay if I smoke in here?” he asked, the lighter poised in his hand, “Don’t think my old man will mind considering he's in a different time zone.” Steve smiled as she got out of the car. She went to the side kitchen door and knocked, Nancy answered, “Kat, hey!” she said as she pulled Kat into the house with a hug. “Hey yourself.” Kat replied Nancy took a step back, “You look great, California gave you a killer tan.” The two laughed a little but the shared laugh was more to cover up the awkwardness.  
“I meant to call, once you got settled over there but things just got crazy and then I thought too much time had passed, I’m sorry.” Kat smiled sympathetically Nancy meant well but what would they have even talked about? They had never really had anything that resembled a real friendship, their only connection had been that their brothers were practically raised together, they, however, had missed out on that bonding experience. “Nancy, no worries, not a big deal. We can catch up next time I have to pick up Dustin.” Nancy smiled and turned but glanced at Kat for a moment. “Something wrong?” Kat asked suddenly very aware of how Nancy’s eyes were taking her in.  
“Is that Steve’s jacket?” Nancy asked. Kat froze suddenly very aware of the material touching her skin, “This jacket? No, um, I took my dad’s old car, he must have left it in there.” Nancy walked towards Kat slowly, “Your dad had a Hawkins High School varsity basketball jacket, one with Harrington embroidered on the side?”   
“Shit, Nancy it’s nothing like that. Our cat got loose and he was helping me look and the heat in that car is busted, he was a perfect gentleman, just being a good guy.” Kat smiled but Nancy didn't. “We’re still together,” she replied bluntly. Kat blushed “Yeah, uh, he mentioned that actually.” Nancy seemed to relax a little after that, “Sorry, that was so uncool.” She said giving her head a little shake, “It's okay, really.” Kat replied, she shrugged off the jacket, “You’ll probably see him before I will anyway.”   
Nancy looked at the jacket in Kat’s hands before taking it, just as she went to reach for it Jonathan Beyers came in through the front door, “Hey,” he called out to no one in particular. “Hey Jonathan, Kat is here!” Nancy called out to him. Jonathan came into the kitchen giving Kat a small smile, “Picking up Will?” Kat asked he nodded, “Dustin?” he replied, now it was Kat’s turn to nod quietly in return. “I’ll go get them,” Nancy said rather firmly and left the two alone in the kitchen. “So how was California?” Jonathan asked not making eye contact. “Oh, great. Just got a little homesick.” Things had always been a little awkward between the Beyers boy and the Henderson girl.  
It wasn’t as if something had happened to cause the uneasiness it had just always been there like a distracting and ugly birthmark. “So how is Will doing?” Kat asked desperately trying to break the silence. “He’s okay, getting better.” Kat pulled her lips together tightly across her face with an almost smile. The silence was getting awkward again and Kat began to wonder if Nancy had somehow disappeared into another plane of existence. “So, uh, you know there's a new guy at school, he’s from California too,” Jonathan said as he began to investigate a loose string on his shirt. “Oh, small world,” Kat said as she took inventory of every smudge on her converse sneakers. “Yeah, uh Billy Har-something Hargrove maybe? You know him?” Kat felt sick. How in the hell did Billy Hargrove end up in Hawkins? She had come here to get away from Danny and all of that and that son of a bitch was here, in her hometown? “No, I don’t think so.”   
“We were in the middle of a campaign, Kat.” Dustin said as he appeared in the kitchen with Will by his side, “And now you’re coming home.” Kat said in the same irritated tone. The boys said their goodbyes and the Hendersons slipped out of the door without much fuss. Kat got in the car and groaned. “That was so much longer than ‘in and out’” Steve noted. “She saw the jacket,” Kat said. They were both quiet as they watched Dustin and Will try to untangle their bikes from the heap. “I should probably go in, talk to her,” Steve said without moving. Kat nodded, “Yeah, she also made it very clear you two are still an item.” Steve took one last drag of his cigarettes before opening the door and stamping it out on the gravel.   
“I’m going to go talk to her,” Steve announced. Kat said nothing but assumed her understood her solidarity. “Thanks again, Steve,” Kat said. Steve nodded and headed towards the door looking like a soldier heading to the front line. Dustin put his bike in the car and got in the passenger seat, “Can we please focus on the problem at hand here? Dart is out there somewhere and we need to kill him before he hurts someone else!” For a moment Kat was almost glad she had bigger problems than whether or not Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler were a couple or not. “Right, after school tomorrow?” she asked her brother. Dustin detailed his plan of attack as they drove back to the house.  
Later that night Kat was sitting in the living room with the television on low drinking a cup of hot chocolate. She couldn’t sleep and she's not sure she could even if she tried, petty drama aside things were pretty crazy. Suddenly Dustin appeared in his pajamas. “Couldn't sleep?” He asked as he settled onto the couch next to his sister. “Nah, apparently time zones no matter how small can really through you off.” Dustin nodded, “Kat, can I ask you something?”  
“Shoot,”  
“Do you like Steve?” Dustin asked. “I’m sorry, what?” Dustin shifted in his seat, “Do you like Steve?” Kat set down her cup, “No, Dustin, why do you care anyway?” Dustin looked at his sister his eyes cloudy with concern, “I just, you left California because of a guy and I…” Kat sighed and pulled her brother into a hug, “I don’t want you to leave again Kat, you just got back. I just got you back.” Kat could feel her heart breaking as her brother told her how he felt. “Listen, when I left before, I was angry and young and it was really shitty of me to leave you and mom. And that whole thing with Danny, that was just one of the reasons I needed to come back, I should have come back a long time ago I just needed that extra push. But now that I’m back, I’m not going anywhere I promise.” Dustin breathed a sigh of relief, “Well, you can’t now not with Dart on the loose and Hawkins feline population on the brink of a mass extinction.   
Kat laughed and for a moment she forgot about everything that had happened that day. She just took in the moment she had with Dustin. “Alright, I’m going to bed, I have that whole school thing I gotta go too.” He groaned like an old man as he left the couch, “Oh the horrible life you must live.” Kat said mockingly. “Goodnight,” Dustin called as he walked down the hallway. “Night,” kat called back. “Hey, um, I, er, I love you,” Dustin said more quietly. Kat smiled, “Love you too, little bro.”


	8. Billy Hargrove

Kat had passed out in her bed sometime after midnight, her dreams had been filled with the image of her little brother and the monster. Every dream she had seem to revolve around her not being able to save Dustin, she would try to run and her legs were stuck to the ground, she would reach out to him and her hands would pass through him like he wasn’t solid. The few times she managed to wake herself up from her nightmares she would quietly tip-toe into Dustin’s room to make sure he was still there, still safe.  
On the off chance she wasn’t failing at rescuing her brother, Billy Hargrove made the occasional cameo only to taunt her more, “Couldn’t help Danny and now you can’t even help your own brother, pretty pathetic Katherine.” At half past six in the morning Kat shot straight up, the aftermath of a particularly vivid nightmare. Her mouth was dry and her chest ached as she tried to catch her breath. “Hey, Kat, mom says to, whoa you okay?” Dustin asked as he appeared in his sister’s doorway, “Yeah, fine, just a bad dream, what’s up?” She asked as she hugged her knees to her chest. “Uh, Mom says breakfast will be ready in ten and to get dressed.”  
Kat nodded a little too enthusiastically to cover the absolute terror she still felt and Dustin slipped uneasily out of the room. It was Kat’s first day at Hawkins High School and she had yet to unpack, scrambling to find something to wear and find what she had packed for school supplies was a feat in itself and Kat emerged from her bedroom 15 minutes later, frazzled but somewhat put together.   
A heaping plate of pancakes sat in the center of the Henderson’s kitchen table and Dustin had his own personal short stack on a plate that he devoured while racing to finish a homework assignment. As much as Kat loved her mother’s cooking her stomach could probably qualify for the US Olympic gymnastic team with all the flips and twists it was performing. Instead, she slowly slipped a glass of orange juice before running to the bathroom and promptly throwing up. Starting at a new school in California had been easier. Mrs. Henderson knocked on the bathroom door, “Kitty Kat, everything okay in there?” Kat quickly swished with mouthwash and stepped out.  
“Mom, I can’t do this,” Kat said quietly, “They’re gonna ask questions and, God, I mean the only person I’ve really talked to is Steve, no one else really knows I’m back yet. And what if I’m super far behind? What if I have repeat the grade or something?” Kat could feel the bile rising in her throat but managed to keep it down. Kat tended to be pretty cool and collected when it came to stressful situations, as long as those situations didn’t involve having to interact with lots of people. Disarm a bomb alone in an empty building? Hell, she could probably do that easily, but if she had to go to a party where she knew no one, that would be a catastrophic disaster.   
Mrs. Henderson sighed as she pinned back Kat’s hair that had fallen out of place. “You can do this, Katherine. If anyone can do this you can. You know these people they were your friends just breathe, and remember to pick up Dusty after AV club.” Kat frowned but collected her things and headed for the car. Dustin got in shortly after and she dropped him off at the middle school, “We catch that thing today, alright?” He asked as he got out of the car. Kat nodded, yet another thing she had almost forgotten to stress over, “Right.” Dustin said a quick thank you before joining his group of friends outside the front doors.   
Kat pulled into the parking lot of the high school, purposely parking further away from anyone else. As she took a quick glance in the rearview mirror her heat stopped. There was Billy Hargrove, in the flesh, and smoking a cigarette as he leaned casually against the hood of his car. Kat could feel her whole body start to shake, but she knew she couldn’t hide from him forever. In a move that surprised even herself, Kat approached Billy, “Holy shit, Kat Henderson?” He let out a disgusting laugh as he took a long drag from his cigarette, “What the hell are you doing here?” Kat hissed at him. “I could ask you the same thing, sweetheart.” Kat glared at him she wanted to rip the cigarette out of his mouth and wipe the smirk he wore off with her shoe.   
“Well, I heard Danny Taylor’s girlfriend was newly single and headed to Indiana, figured I’d take my shot. I mean you and I both know you got it bad for guys with a record.” Before she could react he grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer, blowing smoke in her face, “What do you say Kitty Kat? Huh? Forgive and forget?” Kat spit in his face and Billy recoiled in disgust, “You bitch!” Kat took a few steps back, ‘Listen here you piece of shit, I only came here to tell you to stay the hell away from me and my family. I won’t tell anyone here what you did in LA as long as you keep your distance. Understand?”   
Billy said nothing, Kat moved quickly and gave a swift kick to Billy’s car, leaving a small dent, “I said understand?” Billy grabbed her by the shoulders and Kat braced for the pain she was sure was coming when a voice called out from behind her, “Touch her and you’re dead Hargrove.” Kat loosened Billy’s grip and looked to see Steve striding up beside her, “Wow, Kat, a new boyfriend already? Poor old Danny still locked up and your already someone’s girlfriend? Well I mean I’m sure he is too,” Steve stepped in between the two, “Get lost, Hargrove” Billy smiled at Steve as he flicked his cigarette to the ground. “Big man on campus, huh? What are you going do, Harrington?” Steve set his jaw.  
“Leave. Now. Or your head is going through the windshield.” Steve said in a low menacing voice. Billy looked around as if considering his options, “Whatever, see you around Kat.” Steve watched as Billy slowly made his way towards the school, he turned to see Kat quickly wiping a tear from her cheek, “Hey, are you okay?” Kat wanted to say something. She wanted to say she was fine and walk away she wanted to say no and tell Steve everything that had happened in LA. She wanted to go home and never step foot in that parking lot again. She wanted to do so many things in that moment, she had tried to be brave and to face Billy head on but she couldn’t, she had tried and she had failed. “Do you want to go somewhere?” Steve asked and Kat nodded and the two headed back across the lot towards Steve’s car.


	9. Missed Connection

Steve drove the both of them to the quarries, they both sat in silence for a moment while Kat thought about what she wanted to say. “I knew Billy, back in LA.” She said finally. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Steve but she could feel his eyes boring into her, “We weren’t friends or anything just saw each other at parties occasionally. I mean he was always an asshole, but he and Danny knew a lot of the same people so he was around.” Kat paused unsure of where she wanted to go with this.  
“Anyway, one night Danny and I were walking home from a party and Billy stopped us outside our apartment. I guess he thought that Danny had said something about a girl he was seeing, I mean Danny was a nice guy who didn’t talk trash, that just wasn’t his style. So Danny tries to explain to Billy that he has no idea what he's talking about and we tried to walk away but, Billy just wouldn’t let it go. He pushed me aside and grabbed Danny and just,” Kat’s voice broke and shook as she tried to tell Steve the rest of the story. “I thought Billy was going to kill him, I thought I was going to see my boyfriend beaten to death.”  
Steve was silent for a moment, “And now he’s here, in Hawkins.” Kat nodded she let out a shaky breath, “What are the odds of that?” Steve let out a low whistle, “What are you going to do?” he asked. “I mean what can I do really, you and my family are the only ones who know why I really came back. That's why I went up to him today to tell him I’ll keep his secret if he keeps mine. I won’t tell everybody that he almost beat my ex-boyfriend to death if he won’t tell everyone that the whole reason I came back was that that same ex-boyfriend is currently bunkmates with a murderer.”   
“So mutual blackmail?” Steve asked with a slight laugh in his voice, “It would appear so,” Kat replied she let her head fall into her hands, “How the hell did I get myself into this. I’ve been back in Hawkins for less than three days and lets just recap, shall we? My brother was babysitting some kind of demon thing in his room which ate our cat, who by the way my mother still thinks is missing. Whatever it was that ate Mews is still out there probably eating its way through the stray cat population or worse. The guy who assaulted my ex somehow managed to be in the same town as me, I’m pretty sure your girlfriend thinks that you and I are sneaking around. And to top it all off I am so late for English class right now.”  
Kat let out a frustrated grunt and got out of the car, storming towards the edge of the cliff. “Kat!” Steve jumped out of the car after her, “Kat! What are you doing?” She walked closer to the edge until she stopped and let out an ear-piercing scream. The scream echoed in the cavernous space, as Kat gasped for air. “Feel better?” Steve asked, he had kept a distance from her but had his arm extended as if ready to pull her back any minute. She stepped backward tripping over some rubble Steve rushed forward catching her before she hit the ground.  
He pulled her up to her feet, facing him. Without much thought, Kat wrapped her arms around Steve and pulled him into her. He wrapped his arms around her and the two stood there for a moment embracing one another. “Why are you doing all of this?” Kat breathed into his neck. “I mean we were close before I left,” she untangled herself from him, “but then I never heard from you after I moved. You just keep helping me, keep showing up when I need you the most and I just don’t understand why. You don’t owe me anything, Steve.” He looked down at her and furrowed his brow, “Honestly, I don’t know, maybe I’m making up for lost time, for the four years I wasn’t there for you. For the four years, I never called to see if you were okay.”  
Something about that struck Kat, “Why did you never call?” He looked at her, running a hand through his hair, “Honestly I was mad, I was mad that you left and I was mad I didn’t have the guts to tell you how much I liked you. I mean, God, Kat I was in love with you and you left and that hurt. I mean eventually, I got over being mad because how could I be mad about you leaving me when you didn’t even know how I felt and then I thought if I gave in and called you I’d just...I don’t know.” She looked at him and sighed, “Steve, I didn’t...I mean I...God, I just wished you would have told me before.”  
He cracked a half smile, “And why is that?” Kat gave him a light punch to the shoulder, “Well, considering I had the biggest crush on you.”  
“No way.” He replied laughing, “Oh my God, I’m pretty sure I wrote Mrs. Katherine Harrington in my diary.” Steve let out a long, hard laugh, “That is the dorkiest thing I’ve ever heard.” Kat smiled back. After the laughter died down Kat sighed and said, “We just never got the timing right.” Steve looked back over to his car, avoiding her gaze, “Guess not.” There was another moment of silence before Kat spoke again, “Well you know you have Nancy and I have well not a boy but you know um Demo-whatever thingies to chase down so we’re both…”  
She had almost said happy but that would have been a lie. Monster hunting wasn’t something that made her happy obviously. She couldn’t speak for Steve but something in his face told her that happy wasn’t the word he would use either. Kat felt something inside her shift, she saw that look in Steve’s eyes, he wasn’t happy, she wanted to fix that. She took a step forward closing the gap between them, “Steve, I…” She looked him the eyes holding the moment between them. He reached for her hand but she stepped back, “I have to get back, I have to talk with the guidance lady about transfer credits.” Kat hated herself in that moment no matter how badly she wanted to kiss Steve Harrington no matter how badly she wanted to take away that sadness in his eyes she knew she couldn’t it wasn’t her place.   
Steve coughed and nodded, “I uh promised to meet Nancy for lunch, anyways.” The two stood in silence before heading back to the car for a silent ride back to the school. Kat prayed to anyone who would listen that he couldn’t tell she was silently crying.


	10. Too Young

The rest of the day went by rather uneventfully, Kat drifted from class to class, smiling when needed but mostly keeping to herself. She did make it a point however to avoid Steve. She berated herself endlessly, nothing had happened sure but she had wanted it to she had truly wanted to kiss him in that moment. She reminded herself a thousand times that she had no business getting into a relationship with anyone new considering how the last one had turned out and she absolutely could not be a part of a relationship with someone who no matter how unclear the status of it was was in another relationship. Besides, she had thought to herself, he didn’t want her for her, he wanted Nancy back, she was just the placeholder until Nancy could figure out what she wanted, who she wanted.  
After school had ended Kat drove to the middle school to wait for Dustin to be done with AV club. She pulled up to the doors as she watched him talking with Lucas and a red-haired girl she didn’t recognize. She couldn’t be sure but it seemed like the three of them were fighting over something, “Alright, Dustin, let's go.” She called out to him from the car, he said something to the other two before hurrying over. “Okay, so I’m thinking if we leave a trail of meat from the railroad tracks we can lead it right to the old junkyard. It's the best place to try and kill it, no one is around and it's got plenty of space. Plus all that old metal we could set a trap for it.”   
Kat kept her eyes locked on the road, she had been so caught up in all her typical teen drama she had almost forgotten the severity of this situation. “Dustin, are you sure we shouldn’t just call the cops or something? I mean I get it not everyone knows about this thing or what happened last year but you’re I mean you’re a kid.” Dustin shot her a look, “I’m not some kind of baby, Kat.” She shook her head, “I’m not calling you a baby I just think that maybe you’re too...too involved. You’re only thirteen don’t you think you should be worrying about girls or soccer or whatever it is thirteen-year-old boys are into?”   
Dustin groaned, “You seem to keep forgetting that I did this last year with just Mike and Lucas and Eleven. The chief barely helped and we didn’t need any adults, we did this on our own!” Kat pulled into the driveway, “You only did it alone because I wasn’t here to help you! If I had been here,” Dustin got out of the car slamming the door, “Exactly you weren’t here so stop trying to make up for not being here and don’t try and start protecting me now! I needed you when Dad left and it was just Mom and me! But where were you?” He screamed back at her.  
“Hey!” She yelled back, “I have told you a million times I am sorry for leaving you can’t just throw that in my face when you don’t like what I’m saying. I’m trying to protect you, Dust!” Dustin grabbed his bike from the garage and started pedaling off, “Where are you going?” Kat shouted after her brother, “To kill Dart, without your help! You know why? Because I don’t need it!”   
“Asshole!” Kat shouted at him but she knew he was probably too far away to hear her by now. Kat stormed into her room slamming the door. She collapsed on her bed hot tears already threatening to spill over her lash line. Everyone wanted her to be sorry for leaving four years ago, Steve, Dustin, her mom but no one even seemed to consider how she had felt. Her whole life all she had ever known was coming home to a house where there was constant yelling, where plates got smashed and locks on doors were broken.  
She was sorry she had left but for how long was this going to be something that was seen as something she should be punished for. She couldn’t be there to protect Dustin so now she wasn’t allowed to. She hadn’t told Steve how she felt when she could of so now she never could. Kat crawled into her bed feeling utterly defeated, pulling the sheets over her head she slowly drifted off.


	11. Junkyard

Somewhere in the distance, Kat could hear her brother’s voice. “Kat? Come in Kat?” It sounded distant and distorted but it was Dustin’s voice alright. “S.O.S Kat, S.O.S!” At the mention of the possible disaster, Kat’s eyes sprung open and she listened again for voice. “Kat S.O.S!” The walkie-talkie, of course! Kat raced out of bed and swung open to the door to her closet, she flung fistfuls of clothing around as she searched for the device. After throwing about thirty percent of her wardrobe in all sorts of directions she finally found it.  
“I’m here, I’m here! What’s wrong?” She released the button as she waited for the reassuring static that would accompany her brother’s words. “Junkyard, Demodogs, hurry!” Kat wasn’t sure what he had meant when he had used the term “Demodgos”, but judging by the panic in Dustin’s voice it couldn’t have been good. She then remembered what Dustin had called that thing in their basement. But he had said demodogs plural. Her biggest fear had now become a reality. Kat raced into the kitchen grabbing her dad’s old car keys but stopped knowing she needed to bring some kind of a weapon with her. She ran into her mother’s room and open the drawer on the nightstand.  
Inside was a small handgun, her mother had kept it there for emergencies. Kat justified that an S.O.S call from her brother was an emergency. Before she ran to the car she checked the chamber, there were only three bullets so she would have to make any and all shots count. Kat sped to the junkyard, looking down at the speedometer she was well over 70mph and Hawkin’s streets were really only meant for 30mph but she didn’t care. Her little brother was in danger and she needed to get to him.  
As she neared the junkyard she noticed how eerily quiet it had become. It was as if all the noise in the universe had been sucked out leaving only the dreadful silence in its place. She cut the headlights and coasted down the small hill with the car in neutral. Once she was closer she parked the car and got out silently. There was no sound coming from anywhere and for a moment Kat wondered if she was already too late. Chasing the thought from her mind, she clicked the safety feature of the gun off and proceeded towards the long-forgotten automobiles.  
Kat continued to walk silently when there the sudden sound of metal squeaking coming from behind her. She turned gun at the ready to see Steve emerge from a rusted out bus. “Jesus Christ, watch it!” He hissed at her, she lowered the gun slightly, but still keeping her finger poised on the trigger. “What are you doing here?” He asked she could see his trusty bat was in his hand, “Dustin sent me an S.O.S, where are they?” Steve gestured to the empty space around them. “Either they aren’t here, or,” his grip tightened on the bat, “they’ve got us surrounded.”   
Kat swallowed hard, “Okay but if they’ve theoretically got us surrounded, why are we out in the open?” Steve looked at her, lips drawn tightly together, “They weren’t going for the beef, I’m expanding the menu.” Kat rushed toward Steve grabbing the collar of his shirt, “Are you insane, Harrington? These things are going to kill us, I thought you guys had a plan? Why didn’t you stick to the plan? We’re in the belly of the best now.” Steve nodded, he understood what he had gotten himself into, “Get back on the bus with the kids, keep them safe.” Kat’s eyes widened and she shook her head, “Absolutely not! You are not doing this alone, stop being the macho man for once. You have a stick with nails, you are out of your league here, Steve.”   
A red-haired girl called down from the top of the bus, “I would let the girl with the gun help you!” Kat raised her eyebrows at Steve, her way of saying ‘You know I’m right.’ Steve shook his head but didn’t keep fighting her on the subject. He began to walk forward into the unnaturally thick fog that had begun to encroach on them. Swinging his bat in front of him, Steve whistled as if calling for a dog, “Here, boy. Dinner is ready.” Kat followed slightly behind quicky scanning from side to side covering Steve’s peripheral blind spots. They walked closer and closer to the massive pile of bloody meat all the while Steve kept calling out for the monsters too in his own words, “Come and get it!” They got closer and closer until both teens were standing right next to the meat pile and still they had neither seen nor heard anything.   
Kat began to wonder if maybe there was a chance they were getting out of here without her having to fire a single bullet but then she heard a low rumbling sound that made her stomach drop to the ground. From somewhere in the distance the creature howled and suddenly appeared, its tumorous face inching closer and closer. The next few moments were tense, both Steve and Kat frozen with fear until Steve stepped forward hitting the thing as hard as he could. Kat steadied her gun ready to take a shot once she could be sure she wouldn’t hit Steve when Lucas cried out “Three o’clock” Kat pivoted on the balls of her feet seeing another monster emerge from the fog. Steve had been right, they were surrounded.   
As Steve once again drove his bat into the creature’s front Kat steadied herself and aimed at the creature to her right. She pulled the trigger, the kickback starling her slightly. The bullet grazed the side of the Demogorgon but it seemed to have no effect. As Steve came to the realization they were outnumbered he shouted to Kat, “Get to the bus!” The two ran while the creators began to advance on them. Steve jumped into the open door and Kat ran to catch up. She tripped and landed hard on her back.   
Suddenly the creature was looming over her, it’s hideous face opening up to reveal tentacle-like masses. Kat aimed upwards, shooting the thing in the inside of its mouth. It fell back slightly and Kat ran for the safety of the bus. She jumped into the opening and Steve caught her up in his arms before she hit the floor. Dustin quickly shut the door as the rest of them braced for what was to come. Kat stood up quickly knowing she only had one bullet left she realized she would have to be smart with her next move.  
As the creatures started to slam on the outside of the bus Kat screamed to the kids, “Get to the back! Get to the back!” Steve began to beat the arm of one of the monsters that had managed to make a hole in the door. Kat heard a scream and turned to see the red-haired girl looking up at a small window. Pushing her back Kat aimed the gun and then suddenly the thing stopped advancing toward them. It looked up at the sky as if it heard something and then disappeared into the night.   
Once the silence of the junkyard returned Kat ran to Dustin, pulling him into a hug. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” She asked checking him over for any injuries. “No, no, I'm okay. Steve kept us safe. Are you okay? I thought that thing was gonna…” He couldn’t finish his sentence. The two sibling embraced again in the mutual understanding that whatever petty argument they had had before didn’t matter anymore. “Where the hell did those things go?” The girl asked again. Steve walked slowly to join the others, “They went home.”


	12. Blackout

The small group travelled down the train tracks in silence, the severity of the situation finally seemed to be setting in. Kat heard a rustling in the bushes just ahead, she instinctively stepped in front of Dustin, grabbing his wrist. Steve moved toward the noise, his bat wrapped tightly in his hands. Lucas and the red haired girl who Kat had learned was named Max were frozen beside each other beside Dustin. Steve jabbed at the bushes with his bat and the group waited for something, anything to happen. Steve looked back at the group shaking his head, “Its fine, let’s keep moving.” The others followed his lead and was following him into the inky darkness when Lucas spoke up, “You knew Dart was one of them.”   
Dustin stopped walking and turned to face Lucas, “No, I didn’t I thought he was just a lizard or something.” Kat could hear the lie slipping from her brother’s mouth. He had known Dart had been one of those things, he had known since he had eaten Mews. She didn’t understand why he was lying but she knew her brother well enough to know he probably had a good reason, so she remained quiet. Steve turned to the boys, “I thought you said you knew when it ate Mews?” Kat glared at Steve desperately trying to get him to stop talking. “Mews? Max asked, “Yeah, Dustin’s cat.” Steve replied. “Steve!” The Henderson siblings cried in union. Steve looked at them both in confusion.   
“It ate Mews?” Lucas yelled “You knew it was one of those things and you didn’t say anything? You went against the party!” Lucas moved forward toward Dustin with such intensity Kat’s stomach lurched. She went to step in front of the boys but Steve tapped her wrist and looked at her, Dustin would have to fight his own battles. “You broke the party rules!” Dustin yelled back at Lucas. The fight began to escalate between the two boys while the two teens looked on. Kat was torn she wanted to jump in, to stop the fight but at the same time she couldn’t protect Dustin from all the problems in the world especially not ones he caused himself.   
Kat looked to Max, the girl kept her eyes low almost as if she was ashamed and Kat wondered if she had anything to do with the fight the two boys were now having. She had a sickening feeling she was. Wasn’t her little brother too young to be having fights over girls? Maybe when she had left he would have been, but not now. Eventually the boys became a little too close for comfort and Steve stepped in, demanding authority to which the boys yielded almost immediately.   
They walked in silence after that, Kat could tell her brother was hurting and she wanted to do something, something to make him feel better but what could she do? She couldn’t yell at Lucas for being upset and she couldn’t very well turn the blame on Max who for all Kat knew could be completely innocent in all this. They finally reached the massive building and in the dark it seemed even more imposing. As they emerged from the woods two familiar voices called out from across the field.  
“Steve?” Nancy and Jonathan cried out in unison, Steve was taken aback, “Nancy?” Nancy’s eyes traveled to the group that had filled in behind her somewhat boyfriend. “Kat?” She asked and Kat wanted to bleed into the background and disappear. “Yeah,” she called out. “What are you all doing here?” Nancy asked again but the question seemed to be directed at Steve and Kat. Dustin spoke up, “Demodogs, we tracked them back here. Why are you here?” Jonathan tilted his head towards the building, “My brother...among other things.”   
“Well we’re not getting in until that gate comes up,” Steve nodded towards the guard stand. Without hesitation Jonathan moved quickly toward the guard stand. Kat watched as his fingers flew across the panel flicking switches and frantically pushing buttons. Dustin shoved his way into the cramped space demanding Johnathan let him try. Suddenly all the lights in facility went out and Kat’s heart stopped. She turned to see Nancy who’s face had grown pale, her bottom lip quivering with fear. “Nancy, it’s going to be okay.” Kat said trying to remain positive. Nancy turned to Kat with eyes that seemed to stare through her, “Do you really believe that?” Kat shifted uncomfortably, “I don’t know,” she answered. After a few more moments of Dustin and Jonathan smashing keys, a car came screeching out of the gate at lightning speeds. The car came to halt and the Chief rolled down his window, “Get in!”


	13. Go Be The Hero

The group convened at the Beyer’s home and as Kat tried to collect the kids and keep them calm she couldn’t help but notice how Steve was staring at Nancy. She tried to focus on anything but that but it was almost as if everything was moving in slow motion. Nancy tightly holding Jonathan's hand as the two watched over Will’s small body, still in a hospital gown. Steve looking at Nancy in a pained way, in a way that said he knew whatever they had had was gone and whatever she and Jonathan had tried to hide from each other was growing into something that they could no longer deny.   
Kat could feel herself slowly losing focus, all these things were piecing together in front of her and for the first time since she had returned home she felt utterly and completely useless. Dustin had been right, he didn’t need her, she watched as all these people she had known for years moved around with purpose even through all the chaos that was their lives now. She felt like she had just been placed in a world that didn’t need her, a life that didn’t need her. Kat felt the crushing realization that she didn’t belong, not in Hawkins, not in California, not anywhere. Kat could feel tears brimming in her eyes, it was as if everything that had happened in the short time since she had been back hit her full force.  
The walls felt as if they were closing in and she felt as if she desperately needed air. Kat took one last look at those around her before quietly slipping out the door and into the cool night. She took a few shaky breaths wrapping her arms around herself. It wasn’t too long of a walk home but it wasn’t ideal in these conditions. She looked back at the house for a moment thinking on if she was making a mistake but then Dustin’s voice came like a sonic boom into her brain, “I did this all without you!” Shaking her head Kat prepared for the walk home. “Kat? Kat what are you doing?” She turned to see Steve coming down the stairs of the porch. “I don’t know I just… you guys don’t need me, you’ve all done this before and I’ll just get in the way just like I did at the junkyard. I just take up all this space and cause you all so much more trouble than I'm worth,” Suddenly it seemed like everything that Kat had been holding back came flooding out of her at a relentless pace. “You wouldn’t be fighting with Nancy if I hadn’t borrowed your jacket, you wouldn’t be getting harassed by that asshole, Billy if we weren’t friends. You wouldn’t be the one protecting my little brother. Everyone in there has a purpose, including you, Steve. I’m the odd man out. I don’t belong here.”   
Steve looked at her for a long moment, his brows furrowing, “Nancy, I…”  
“Nancy?” Kat asked her breath caught in her throat, Steve’s eyes widened as he realized his mistake, he reached for her but she stepped back. “Kat, I’m sorry... I didn’t” Steve began. She held up a hand “No, no, we’re not doing that. You don’t need to apologize I get it. Like I said I don’t belong here, I’m not the girl you fall for. You’re the hero of this story and the girl you love, she’s in that house, not standing here in front of you. You don’t want me, and that's okay. No matter how badly I want to be that girl I’m not and I can’t change that.”   
Suddenly there was shouting coming from the house and the two looked toward the sound. “Go be the hero and keep them safe.” Before Steve could say anything Kat kissed him softly on the cheek before turning and walking swiftly down the driveway.“Kat!” Steve called out after her but she refused to look behind. “Kat!” He called out again but she was already back on the main road and she’d be damned if she let Steve Harrington see her cry.


	14. Guys like you, Billy

Katherine Henderson walked home feeling as if her body weighed a thousand pounds. Every breath she took made her heart ache but she kept going. She had let down everyone in California, she ran once things got scary and part of her still felt the shame of that. She had come back to Hawkins searching for peace and found herself an outsider in the one place she thought she’d feel most at home. Dark clouds mixed and turned in the sky above her, and the air smelled of metal and blood.   
As she walked she became more and more aware of how the denim of her jeans clung to her cold skin and how the tips of her fingers and toes had started to become numb. She decided to take the short cut back through the Wheeler’s yard, it was dark and no one would notice if she slipped in between the houses. As she approached the house she noticed a dark blue Camaro idling in the driveway. There was something familiar about the car but Kat couldn’t quite place it. Then it hit her, she had seen that car before all the way back in California. Billy. Kat’s stomach lurched as she saw the young man saunter out of the Wheeler’s front door. “Thanks again, Mrs. Wheeler. You sure are some sort of life saver!” He smiled and waved at her and Kat could feel bile rising in her throat.  
For a moment she froze, if she ran there was no way he wouldn’t notice her but then again walking right on by wouldn’t do her much good either. But she also couldn’t ignore that primal instinct that something was wrong. As she racked her brain looking for an escape plan Billy called out, “Hey there, Kitty Kat. What brings you out this late? I would have thought after what happened to Danny, Moma would have kept you on a short leash, no?” Kat stood her ground, “Do you always make house calls to bored housewives or is Mrs. Wheeler just the flavor of the month?” Billy smirked as he took a cigarette from his breast pocket, “Don’t get it twisted, Henderson. I’m just here looking for my sister, she snuck out and my old man is pissed.”  
“Sister?” Kat asked, while she had known Billy back in California she had never heard of a sister or really any family. “Step-sister, and a little bitch of one too. You seen her around? She hangs out with that Sincliar kid and that pudgy brother of yours.” Kat clenched her jaw, the last person she wanted Dustin to even breathe the same air as was Billy. For a moment Kat was back in that alley watching as Billy pummeled Dan again and again. A a split second the image of Dustin catching an elbow to the gut or even worse flashed in her mind. A shiver ran down her spine, “Yeah, I’ve seen her around. Saw her tonight actually.” Billy raised an eyebrow, “Oh really? You’ve been hanging out with the Beyers boys? Mrs. Wheeler just told me that's where they all hang out.” Kat knew this was her moment to make a move, “Nah, that's just what they tell her. They’re by the old junkyard actually, you know that's where all the kids go.”   
Billy took a stiff drag from his cigarette, “To do what exactly?” Kat chuckled darkly, “Oh, Billy, what sorts of things did you do with girls that you didn’t tell your parents about.” Billy threw his cigarette to the ground. “Where the hell is this junkyard?” Kat played along giving Billy overly complicated directions and stopping to pretend she couldn’t quite remember street names, Mapple? No, Marve? No, it’s Mapple. She watched with a hint of joy as Billy grew more and more agitated, every minute he stood talking with her was another minute some boy, some particular boy, was inching ever so much closer, or so Billy thought. Once Kat had felt she had thoroughly confused Billy she let him go, “This isn’t some sort of truce, dickhead. I just don’t want my brother around the likes of anyone who shares your DNA.” Billy growled low in his throat, “She isn’t my sister.”   
Billy leaned in close inches from Kat’s face, she knew he was trying to intimidate her, make her scared to waste his time like this again. Kat leaned in closer plucking a cigarette from the cartoon on the breast pocket of his jacket, “Better hurry.” With a final disgruntled huff, Billy peeled out of the Wheeler’s driveway and into the opposite direction of the Beyer’s house. Once his tail lights had faded into the distance Kat took off running toward her own home hoping she had bought herself and her brother enough time.


	15. Leech

Kat ran stumbling over her own feet desperately trying to get to her house. Finally it came into view and Kat dove into the driver’s seat of the old car. Throwing down the sun visor, the keys tumbled into her lap. Hands shaking she stabbed at the ignition several times before the key slipped into place. Throwing the car into reverse she stomped on the gas pedal backing out the driveway. She tore down the streets of Hawkins, running stop signs and passing under red lights. Finally she was the top of the street that led to the Beyer’s dirt path driveway. She looked to the bottom of the street and her heart stopped, Billy. The headlights of his car bore into her windshield and she heard the squeal of his tires.  
Kat was closer though and snapping the steering wheel she made the turn into the Beyer’s driveway. She hit the brakes hard barely missing Steve’s car. She made a run for the door just as Steve opened it to see what all the noise had been about. “Kat? What? What are you doing? Are you okay?” Kat shook her head and made towards the gaggle of pre-teens huddled in the corner of the living room. “Stay down. Stay away from the windows, don’t make a sound.” She ordered, the kids looked skeptical for a moment but Dustin nodded with understanding and the rest followed his lead.   
“Kat, you need to tell me what the fuck is going on,” Steve began just as Billy’s headlights illuminated the living room through the window. Steve straightened up understanding instantly and made a move for the door, “No,” Kat said putting an arm on his shoulder, “Let me deal with him, okay? Just stay here with the kids and make sure they stay down.” Steve’s brows furrowed, “Are you serious? No, I’m not playing babysitter while you go deal with that psycho.” There was no more time for discussion though as Billy stepped out of his car cigarette dangling from his lips. Steve stepped out the door arms crossed.  
“Am I dreaming or is that you, Harington?” Billy taunted walking slowly towards Steve. “Yeah, its me. Don’t cream your pants.” Steve began to walk towards Billy as well, both trying to stand their ground. Kat watched as both boys stood inches from each other swapping insults. She couldn’t hear exactly what was being said but she kept seeing Steve shake his head, denying something. Kat’s fingers trembled at her side, she had been here before. For the second time that night she was back in California standing next to Danny, pleading with him to get up, wiping the blood from his nose and mouth. She snapped back into the present just in time to see Billy point towards the kids, who were peering out the window.  
“I told you to stay down!” Kat hissed “Do you think he saw us?” Dustin asked. Kat looked back outside and saw Billy push Steve to the ground. Without thinking she yelled out, “Hey!” She started towards Billy. Steve scrambled to his feet, “Kat, get back in the house.” Kat said nothing, her mouth set in a determined smirk. “Holy shit, am I going to beat up another boyfriend, Henderson? You sure know how to pick ‘em.” Kat felt a lump in her throat, all the confidence she had had earlier was gone. Before she had been protecting Dustin, with his safety as her number one priority she could have stared down the devil himself and be as calm and cool as James Bond.   
But now? Now that Billy was only feet away from her brother, now that the threat was so real, she wasn’t sure she could be the brave girl she had been before. “What’s your deal, Billy? I mean seriously, don’t you have anything better to do then torture some little kids? Or are you just stalking me?” Billy let out a long, hard laugh, “The only person I’m here for is Maxine and if Harrington is in my way then, well, you’ve seen what I do to guys who get in my way. As for you Kitty Kat? You just seem to constantly be in the wrong place at the wrong time. You’re like some annoying little leech, you know that? You just cling to losers like Harrington and then you have to deal with what happens when a real man like myself has to take care of business.” He took a long drag from his cigarette, blowing the smoke into Kat’s face.  
Steve stepped in between the two, pulling Kat behind him as he did, “That’s enough. Just get out of here, man. Don’t you know when you’re not wanted?” Billy laughed again, cocking his head to peer at Kat behind Steve’s shoulder,”Listen, word of advice, Harrington. I’d stay away from the likes of her. Clingy sluts never do anyone any good.” Steve jerked his arm back, as Billy opened himself up, mockingly inviting Steve to throw the first punch but before he could Kat slipped under his arm before jabbing her knee straight into Billy’s groin.


	16. Blood Red

The blow knocked the air out of Billy’s lungs but it wasn’t enough to knock him down. He clutched his abdomen and for a few tense moments Kat watched, waiting for a reaction. As Billy straightened himself, Steve turned to her, “Get in the house. Lock the door.” Kat looked to Steve she didn’t want to leave him, “You know what Harington, I’ll give you a break. As for you, Kitty Kat, I don’t usually hit girls, but I think I’ll make an exception.” There was a fire in Billy’s eyes that Kat felt deep in her core, this was a true primal fear, one she hadn’t felt before. Billy lunged towards her as Steve dove forward absorbing the blow that would have gone straight to Kat’s jaw.  
The Henderson girl ran towards the house, as Billy chased after her with Steve close behind. Once inside Kat could hear the kids yelling and screaming, they were just as scared if not more than she was. The four of them were huddled in the corner of the living room holding on to each other. Billy burst in through the door while Kat stood feet and arms spread in a protective stance above the kids. As he moved with deadly quickness towards the kids, Kat realized he wasn’t looking at her anymore, he was dead set on Lucas.  
Billy shoved Kat out of the way and grabbed the boy jerking him upwards as Lucas squealed to be let go. Kat got quickly to her feet jumping into Billy’s back, locking her hands onto her wrists while she wrapped them around his neck. He swung around wildly like a caged animal still with Lucas in the air. He managed to toss Kat off and she skidded across the floor stopping at Steve’s feet. The two of them looked toward Billy again just as Lucas sent a swift kick to his stomach. Steve ran over to Billy grabbing him by the shoulder spinning him around giving him a hearty punch to the face.  
Billy let out another laugh even as his mouth filled with blood, Kat went to get off the floor but as she felt a cold wetness spreading across her forehead. She put her fingers to the source only to pull them away soaked in deep red blood. Suddenly the room felt like it was spinning and there was a loud thump next to her. Turning she could Steve on the ground next to her as Billy kneeled above him. She could hear the kids screaming and she wondered if this is what Danny had felt like that night. Blow after blow landed on Steve as Kat lay there helpless and Billy cackled in a disgusting way that sounded somehow inhuman.  
Kat could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness she turned toward Steve only to find him already looking at her. The world slowed in that moment the two of them fading together into that soft red of closed and bloodied eyelids. The last thing Kat remembered was the feeling of Steve’s finger tips grazing her hand and someone yelling.


	17. Stick Shift

Kat came to as she heard her brother’s voice in her ear, “Kat, come on you have to wake up. Kat. Kat, please wake up.” She began to start feel again in her fingertips and legs, like she was floating to the surface of a swimming pool. “Shit,” Kat mumbled, the pain in her head now a dull ache. She felt her forehead and found it plastered together with bandaids. Everything considered she had gotten out pretty okay. Suddenly a hot wave of panic over took her body, Steve, the kids, Billy. Kat shot up like a rocket only to have herself pulled back by a seatbelt. Seatbelt? Kat closed her eyes for a moment trying to get a sense of her surroundings, she could feel the cold leather underneath her hands and she heard the rhythmic thudding of the tires as they spun across the pavement.   
Why was she in a car? “Dustin, what the hell is going on?” Her little brother bit his bottom lip with his freshly cut teeth, “Just relax, everything is…” Suddenly there was a groan from Kat’s left and she turned to see Steve, face swollen and bloody beside her, “Holy fu-” Kat stopped, if she was in the back seat with Steve then who was driving? “Who’s driving?” Kat yelled shooting her body forward again to peer into the driver's seat. Max sat with her hands at ten and two respectively, although she just barely was tall enough to see over the steering wheel while sitting.  
“Nope. Nope. Nope.” Kat unbuckled herself and went to move towards the gear shift to throw them into park but was faced with something truly frightening. She had no idea how to drive stick shift. “How is she driving right now?” Kat said in almost awe to Dustin, “She’s practiced in the parking lot before.” There was more groaning coming from Kat’s left and she could see Steve’s eyes fluttering open with a glaze of confusion coming over them. “Hey, buddy,” Dustin said in a perky voice, “How are you feeling?” Kat turned toward Steve, “You look like hell, Harrington.” Steve groaned in response, “You alright, Kat?” She nodded in response, he took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.   
“Wait, if you’re here, who’s driving? Wait, is this my car?” Kat pulled her lips into a small flat line, “I can’t drive stick.”   
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” Steve was yelling as Dustin and Mike tried to keep him calm even as his car swerved across the dividing line. “I liked him better when he was passed out,” Mike groaned. “Steve, relax, okay? It’s going to be fine, Dust where are we even going?” Kat asked with anxiety cutting through her voice. “Steve isn’t going to like it,” He mumbled. “Oh hell no! I told you guys the game plan was to...well to not do anything, we were benched!”   
“Do you keep running the same play when the other team is kicking your ass?” Mike retorted, his arms crossing defiantly. Steve looked to Kat for support but she just shook her head, “I mean he has a point.” Steve tried to continue the argument but just as he opened his mouth again the tires hit the soft, supple earth of the pumpkin patch.


	18. A Deeper Understanding

Steve was still fighting the kids even as they began to cover themselves from head to toe in what looked to Kat like homemade scuba diving gear. Kat didn’t say much, she was still as she watched these kids, some of who she had known since they were still in diapers, as they suited up like a group of underdog superheroes. There was a part of her that was impressed, in awe of how these kids from small-town Indiana were looking certain danger possibly even death in the face all to save their friend. She was proud of them but she couldn’t shake the fear that was creeping like a shadow upon her. It felt like she was the only one who was really considering the seriousness of the situation, they could die. They could all die right here in this pumpkin patch and no one would know for hours.  
Kat looked down into the gaping maw that was the hole in the earth that the kids were planning on descending into. It almost glowed with a greyish blue light, a light that seemed to both call out to her and disgusted her at the same moment. The thick purple tentacle-like roots seemed to drip like rotting veins from all sides, and although Kat couldn’t be sure she thought they might have been pulsating. The air that came up from the hole smelled like sulfur and blood mixed with rotting meat. The stench was so putrid, Kat felt bile rise in her throat. Even as her mind was telling her to run far away from this place, even though every nerve in her body was screaming danger, something deep inside her was telling her to jump.  
Kat stepped closer, the tops of her shoes resting on earth that crumbled into the hole. She found herself wondering how far the drop was, five, six feet perhaps. Would it hurt if she jumped down? Closer and closer she inched toward the opening, something was pulling her inwards like a magnet and then suddenly she was falling. She screamed as she fell further down before abruptly slamming into the hard ground. Kat heard her brother yell her name from somewhere above. She took a moment to collect herself, nothing felt broken or sprained. “I’m okay,” Kat called out. A rope tumbled down from the hole and Steve appeared beside her. “Are you sure you’re alright?” He asked looking her over for any signs of injury. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” Steve handed her a bandanna, “Put this over your mouth and nose, we have no idea what's down here, could be poison gas for all we know.”   
“If it’s poison gas we’re already fucked,” Kat remarked while covering her face. Soon the other children joined Steve and Kat in the hole, each wearing their own facial coverings. “Okay so the plan is we get to the center and we drown this place in gasoline, we light it and we run, got it?” Steve asked the kids they nodded. Mike went to move forward to lead the group but Steve stopped him, “If any of you little shits die down here, I’m responsible for it,” he said taking the map. “Correction,” Kat interjected, “We’re responsible for it.” Without another word, Kat took a look at the map and started moving.  
They had been walking for what could have been miles, the unchanging landscape of the tunnel made it almost impossible to tell how long they had been down there. Kat and Steve led the small party keeping their eyes on the map checking their position every few minutes. From behind Kat heard Dustin say something she couldn’t quite make out and then suddenly he let out a terrifying scream. Kat rushed to her brother’s side to find him wailing on the group, screaming about something in his mouth. “Spit it out!” Kat commanded, “Spit it out, Dust!” Sputtering and gasping for air Dustin managed to expel the milky substance from his mouth and catch his breath. “I’m okay,” Kat rolled her eyes at her brother’s dramatic nature but couldn’t help but to also breathe a sigh of relief.   
As they entered the center of the cavern and the kids began to drench the place with gasoline, Kat pulled Steve aside. “If anything happens tonight I need you to promise me that you will get these kids out of here.” Steve pulled his goggles down to look Kat in the eyes, “I promise you nothing is going to happen. We’re gonna light this place up and then it’ll all be over. Everything is going to be okay,” Steve assured her. Kat said nothing but looked back at the kids, “Just promise you’ll make sure my mother won’t be burying two kids after tonight.” The confidence that Steve usually carried with him seemed to drain from him as he took in the severity of Kat’s words. “I promise.”   
After a few moments, the kids began to back away from their gasoline-soaked center point. The party stood in the opening of the tunnel they had come from and were preparing for Steve’s go-ahead to start the fire when a horrible gurgling snarl came from the darkness. Emerging from seemingly nowhere a Demodog had suddenly appeared standing next to the group, its mouth opening to reveal tiny razor-sharp teeth. “Dart?” Dustin called to the monster. Kat reached forward to stop him but he slipped out of her grasp. Steve spread his arms wide keeping the rest of the group from following Dustin. “Hey, buddy.” Dustin removed his mask and smiled at the thing. It paused for a moment as if it recognized him but still continued to growl. “Dustin!” Kat kissed but Steve held firm and she couldn’t get to him, “Yeah, I know I probably deserve that. But I brought you our favorite.” Dustin smiled a toothy grin as he pulled a Three Musketeers candy bar from his backpack. “Here,” He unwrapped the candy and placed it in the space between them.   
Kat let out a small squeal from the back of her throat as the creature lunged forward. But instead of mauling Dustin it simply slurped up the chocolate in haste like it hadn’t eaten in days. As the creature gorged itself on the candy Dustin motioned for the party to make its way towards the exit. Kat stayed behind to make sure her brother wasn’t left alone with the monster. The two beings shared a moment that Kat couldn’t quite understand but the creature backed away again into the darkness as Dustin joined Kat. They joined the group and once everyone was a safe distance away Steve threw his lighter into the gasoline-soaked earth that burst into flames as soon as the lighter hit.   
The kids began to run towards the exit as Steve hurried behind. Kat turned to run but something in her stopped. As she turned to face the wall of flames that was slowly engulfing the space around her, she felt that same pulling sensation she had had as she stood over the opening in the ground. She watched as the bright flames of the fire slowly crawled their way up the walls, watched as the tentacles of whatever this thing was shrivel and thrash to get away from the immense heat. She could feel the hot breath of the fire on her face coming in wave after wave. She could hear something behind her yelling but it was nothing compared to the sound she heard coming from within the flames.  
It wasn’t a scream more like a low howl and it felt somehow so familiar and yet so alien to her. Kat closed her eyes and felt herself falling once again but it was more like falling upwards. She felt her body start to burn from the flames but she didn’t move, she couldn’t. When she opened her eyes she wasn’t in the tunnel anymore. Instead, she was standing in her own bedroom. Everything looked the same except for the snow, it was snowing inside her bedroom but the flakes seemed to be almost suspended in some sort of reversal of gravity. It was cold too, so cold that it almost burned as much as the fire but it didn’t hurt. Kat could feel the coldness but it was if her brain wasn’t getting the message that she was supposed to be in pain.  
She walked out of her room and out of the house and down the road. The snow was everywhere and thick tree trunk like tentacles surrounded everything like they had in the tunnels. Kat knew this was Hawkins but this was some other kind of Hawkins. There were abandoned cars in the middle of the road, storefronts were broken and that same sickly stench of death wrapped itself around her. It was if something else had taken over, Kat was no longer herself but a puppet to something much larger and much more dangerous. She had no fear as her body moved through the small town. Kat all at once understood everything, why she was here, what this was. She understood everything and she understood she was already too late.


	19. Barbara

As Kat stood in the center of the street a voice called out to her, “Kat?” She turned to see an emaciated Barbara Holland standing further down the road from her, “Barb? What are you doing here?” Kat went to move closer but something stopped her  
“I’m stuck.”  
“Stuck?” Kat asked fear creeping into her voice, “Am I-” Kat began but Barb cut her off, “No, no you’re not. It knows it’s getting weaker and pretty soon it is going to need a new host.” Kat nodded, “So I’m the new host?” Barb shook her head, “No, no but there is something about you, something that interests it. That's why you're here. Why aren’t you afraid, Katherine?”   
“I don’t know,”   
“Do you know what this place is?”  
“Yes.”  
“And you understand how this all happens?”  
“Yes.”   
“And you are not afraid?” Kat shook her head, “No.” She opened her mouth to speak again but began to cough violently as clouds of white ash erupted from her lungs. “They’re bringing you back.” Barb sighed as a look of envy washed across her face. “It isn’t strong enough to keep you here, it has to physically take you for you to become stuck. You aren’t really here, Kat, just your mind. They’re flushing your system with saline and fresh oxygen to help get some of the smoke out of your lungs and to help with the burns.”   
“How do you know this?” Kat asked. Suddenly there was a searing pain in her leg and Kat watched as the skin turned red and blistered as it burned without a source. Kat screamed as the pain engulfed her, “How do you know!” She yelled to Barb who calmingly watched as Kat’s body began to burn and soot poured from her lips, “The same way you knew what this place was. It told me.”


	20. Alone

Kat awoke in a hospital bed, her legs felt heavy and useless. She looked down to see them banged tightly from her ankle to her thigh. Her midsection brandished bandages as well but far less severe than what covered her legs. “Hey,” Steve called from a chair beside her, “Hey, you’re awake.” He smiled at her as Kat shifted to look at him, “What happened?” He moved closer so she wouldn’t have to contort her body to look at him. “Well, we, uh, we burned that place down. There’s nothing left of it, but uh when I was getting the kids out you just stopped running. You turned away from me and just stared at the fire like you were possessed or something. I was yelling for you but you just wouldn’t move.” Kat shuddered as the memory of the raging inferno flooded her mind.   
“I got you out as soon as I could but you made me promise to make sure all the kids got out so I had to get them out before I could go back for you. I did it as fast as I could bu-but there were a few moments where you were alone just laying in that fire.” Steve let out a quick breath like it was making him sick to talk about what had happened, “The doctors, uh, they said it was good, the way you fell. There was no head injury and um they said the size of the fire with everything, just, uh- yo-you were really lucky, Kat.” There was a moment of silence between the two as the mental image of Kat’s unconscious body surrounded by flames flashed in their minds.  
“I’m lucky you went back for me, you could’ve have left me there,” Kat said as she studied the bandages Steve sported on his forearm, no doubt from pulling her from the fire. “No, I couldn’t have.” Steve said, “I couldn't have lived with myself if I had just left you there to-” He didn’t finish his sentence. Another brief pause flowed into the conversation as both teens struggle to speak to one another. “How’s Will?” Kat eventually asked, “Oh, um, he’s pretty good. They let him go a few days ago.” Kat shook her head, “Days?” Steve nodded, “Yeah, the doctors they put you into a medically induced coma for a few days, to help with the pain. They said it would be easier for your body to heal if you weren’t under stress and you can’t be stressed if you’re unconscious.”   
Kat sighed, “Well you picked a good day to come visit then,” She smiled at him.  
“Oh, no, I’ve actually been here the whole time,” Steve said resting a hand on the back of his neck. “What?” Kat asked in shock, “Yeah, believe me, your mom tried to get me to go home but I just couldn’t,” he admitted. “Why not?” Kat asked, “Well, because, I just kept thinking what if you woke up and no one was here for you. I just- the idea of you waking up scared and alone and in pain, I couldn’t go home knowing that was a possibility.” Kat nodded, “Thank you.” Steve smiled at her before looking away from her again, “Kat, I have to ask, what the hell happened to you? Why did you stop running?” Kat looked past Steve to the snow slowly falling outside the window, “I don’t know, I really don’t know.”


	21. Dances

“Katherine, could you get the door?” Mrs. Henderson called, “Yeah, hang on!” Kat was standing in her bedroom looking at herself in the full-length mirror. It had been a few weeks since her stay at the hospital but the burns were still raw and angry. Kat had always considered herself a relatively attractive girl but now as she looked down at the burns that were sure to scar that crisscrossed her legs, she felt truly ugly. Quickly pulling on clothes to hide the burns Kat walked to the front door and opened it to find Steve Harrington waiting. “Did Dustin forget something?” Kat asked. Steve had taken Dustin to the Snow Ball dance at the middle school that night but he had only been gone half an hour. “No, can we talk?” Kat gripped the door tighter, “I don’t know I’m really busy,” she lied. “Come on, Kat. We both know you’ve been avoiding me since you got out of the hospital. What’s going on? What did I do?”   
“Honey? Who is it?” Mrs. Henderson asked as she stepped into view of the door, “Well if it isn’t the hero himself! How are you dear?” Steve smiled, “I’ve been good, I’m not a hero though Mrs. H.” Kat’s mother brought Steve into a hug, “Nonsense, why if you hadn’t been there-” Mrs. Henderson’s eyes started to tear up as her voice began to quiver, “Would you two excuse me, I have a pot roast in the oven.” After she left Steve turned back to Kat, “Seriously if I did something to upset you, I’m really sorry but-” Kat held up a hand. “Do you want to go for a ride?”   
` “What?” Steve asked, “You drove here, right? Let’s go for a ride.” Without much of a fight Steve led Kat to his car and they pulled out of the driveway. Steve drove for a while as Kat remained silent, eventually, he pulled up to the quarries. “Alright, seriously what is going on? You don’t return my calls, you won’t talk to me in school. What is your deal?” Kat sighed, “I don’t have any ‘deal’.” Steve shook his head, “Well clearly you do.” Kat scoffed and got out of the car slamming the door behind her. “I’m sorry, I just, I thought we were friends and now suddenly we aren’t and I don’t know why.” Steve said as he joined her outside.   
“We’re not not friends.” Kat said quietly, “So then why are you acting like you can’t stand the sight of me?” Kat sniffed and walked away from the car. Turning around to face Steve she said, “Ever since I woke I’ve had this horrible feeling that something is going to go wrong. Like something big is going to happen and when it does everything we went through, everything we did to save Will to save everyone it won’t mean anything.” Steve was quiet for a moment and then let out a small laugh, “It isn't funny,” Kat said frustrated. “It kinda is in like the most fucked up way,” Steve replied. He walked forward to stand next to her, “Look none of this is normal. Nothing about what we did or what we went through is normal.   
But that’s just the reality of the situation, Kat. After everything that happened last year and everything that just went down I have given up on normal.” Kat sighed, “But then how do you live? Living in constant fear of something I can’t explain isn’t living, it’s torture.” Kat could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes, “You just pretend.” Steve said. Kat frowned, “I don’t understand.” Steve wrapped her in a hug, “We are probably never going to live ‘normal’ lives again, but that doesn’t mean we have to spend every second of every day preparing for the end. That’s not the way I want to live my life, I’m young and there is still so much stuff I want to do before they put me in the ground. I’m not gonna spend all the time I have worrying about something that might not even happen, you know?” Kat nodded but remained silent.  
“So you’ve been avoiding me because you’ve been worried that all hell is gonna break loose.” Steve asked Kat turned away, “No. The thing is almost dying puts a lot of things into perspective. You start to think about all the things that you almost didn’t get a chance to do. Steve I- if I had died in there, if you didn’t save me, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you how I feel.” Steve stepped closer, “Well how do you feel.” Kat stepped back again creating a space between them, “That’s just the thing! I say it it’s real and if it’s real I can’t take it back and what if I’m right? What if something world endingly bad happened? I don't want to love you if I could lose you.” Steve moved quickly towards Kat cupping her face in his hands, “Love me?” Kat nodded unable to speak. Without another word Steve kissed her hard like everything in the world was dependent on if he kissed her at that moment.  
After they broke apart Steve laughed, “I have wanted to do that since the sixth grade.” Kat let out a small laugh but there were still tears in her eyes, she was still scared of what was to come. “I’m scared.” Steve nodded, “I am too but we just got to take it one day at a time. Try to live normally.” Kat shook her head, “I don’t know if I know what normal is anymore.”   
“Wait here,” Steve said. He ran back to his car and turned the radio on opened the windows letting the music fill the air. “You know what’s normal? Teenagers going to dances, So? Let’s dance.” Kat laughed “Right here? Right now?” Steve smiled and pulled her closer resting his hands around her waist.   
“This is as close to normal as I think we’re going to get for awhile.” At that Kat threw her head back and let out a long, hard laugh. A laugh that she hadn’t heard herself in months. A poppy love ballad came out of the BMW’s stereo and Kat let herself move to the rhyme of the song as Steve pulled her close. “Could we just do this forever?” Kat asked, “It’s so much better than fighting demon dogs or almost dying in a fire.” Steve laughed, “Baby I will dance with you for as long as there is music.” The two laughed as the music carried itself out over the quarry and into the December night.


	22. It's Still Coming

It wasn’t over. There was still something coming. Something big indeed. You can’t stop what has already been put into motion. Everything that will happen has already happened. This is only the beginning


End file.
